This application claims priority of the German patent application 101 43 802.8 filed Sep. 6, 2001 which is incorporated by reference herein.
The invention concerns a delivery device for cassettes and/or specimen slides for histological preparations in an automated printing system.
GB 2 235 163 A discloses a plotter for plastic cassettes in which labeling is accomplished via a thermal method using a heatable plotter pin and a carbon ribbon. Here the plastic cassettes are arranged in a stack magazine and can be delivered individually to the printer via a detent pawl. A further exemplary embodiment here shows a stack magazine, having a stack of glass specimen slides, in which the specimen slides can be removed individually. A disadvantage here is that only a single stack magazine is provided in the printer, and the printer can imprint only plastic cassettes or only specimen slides. Selectable imprinting of cassettes and/or specimen slides is not possible.
A further material delivery device for cassettes is known from GB 2 308 841 A, in which cassettes arranged one above another are arranged in a stack magazine. Individual cassettes can be released from the stack magazine by way of a rotatably mounted release device. Here again, only a single stack magazine is depicted. The use of specimen slides is not possible here.
A printing system for imprinting cassettes and/or specimen slides for histological preparations is known from previously unpublished DE 101 15 065, which corresponds to commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/106,159 filed Mar. 26, 2002. The system depicted and described therein comprises a material delivery device having multiple stack magazines, as well as a printing device and a drying device. The stack magazines are configured to receive cassettes arranged one above another and/or glass specimen slides. A cassette stack that can be introduced into the stack magazine is depicted and described, for example, in DE 201 04 158, which corresponds to commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/093,312 filed Mar. 7, 2002.
The printing system depicted and described in DE 101 15 065 has proven successful because it comprises multiple individually loadable stack magazines. As a result, both cassettes and specimen slides can be stockpiled simultaneously and delivered selectably to the printing device. In practice, colored cassettes and/or specimen slides having a corresponding color code are often used. This color code is used to identify a specific staining method or a specific type of tissue. By arranging multiple stack magazines it is thus possible to arrange differently colored cassettes, and/or specimen slides labeled in different colors, in the individual stack magazines.
It is the object of the present invention to create a simply constructed delivery device for a printer having multiple stack magazines which allows the cassettes and/or specimen slides arranged in the stack magazines to be released individually under the control of a control device.
According to the present invention, this object is achieved by a delivery device that comprises a drive shaft associated with at least two of the stack magazines, and a motor connected to the control device and to the drive shaft for rotating the drive shaft. Advantageous developments of the invention are described herein.
The delivery device for cassettes and/or specimen slides is characterized in that a drive shaft for at least two stack magazines is provided, and this drive shaft is driven by a motor connected to a control device.
Provision is made for the drive shaft to have an entrainment disk for each stack magazine, the entrainment disks being arranged at an offset from one another on the drive shaft for identification and individual control. The result of this is that depending on the position of the motor or the drive shaft, exactly one stack magazine can be selected by way of the entrainment disk.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the entrainment disk is divided into an outer and an inner disk, the inner disk being immovably joined to the drive shaft. A lever mechanism, with which an individual cassette or an individual specimen slide can be released out of the stack magazines, is arranged on the outer disk.
The inner and outer disks are constructed in the manner of a freewheel, the inner disk having a recess and a leaf spring being arranged on the outer disk.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the one end of the leaf spring is joined immovably to the outer disk, and the other end of the leaf spring projects into the recess of the inner disk.
In a preferred embodiment, the freewheel is configured such that in the one rotation direction of the drive shaft, the leaf spring jumps over the recess upon rotation; and in the other rotation direction of the drive shaft, a positively fitting connection is created between the outer and inner disk by engagement of the leaf spring into the recess.
The outer entrainment disk carries a lever that is connected via a reversing linkage to a slider for ejecting a specimen slide or a cassette from the stack magazine.
Provision can be made, in this context, for the slider to be adapted in its configuration to the shape of the specimen slide or the shape of the cassette.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the drive motor is embodied as a stepping motor. As a result is it also possible, in order to recognize the position of the drive shaft, to provide only a single triggering tab, joined to the drive shaft, which when the drive shaft is in one position engages into an immovably arranged light barrier and thus signals a specific position, in this case the zero position, of the drive shaft.
In a development of the invention, the control device is connected to the light barrier, the signal of the light barrier being automatically recognized by the control device as the zero position. Stored rotational positions of the drive motor can then be activated by way of the control device. These rotational positions of the drive shaft or of the drive motor correspond to the individual entrainment disks arranged at an offset on the drive shaft. The angles at which the entrainment disks are arranged with respect to one another on the drive shaft are immaterial. All that is necessary is to ensure that only a single effective spring/recess connection can be created at any one time.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the reversing linkage or the outer disk comprises a spring for resetting the slider after an ejection of the specimen slide or cassette from the stack magazine has occurred. This ensures that after the spring/recess connection has been abolished, a reset of the reversing linkage and of the slider is accomplished between the inner and the outer entrainment disk.
For protection from powdered glass, the spring can advantageously be embodied in encapsulated fashion.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the glass specimen slide stacks arranged in the stack magazines are carried by hardened components. This has the advantage that no material abrasion occurs on the delivery device as a result of the very hard glass specimen slides.
For that purpose, provision can be made for the slider to comprise at least two slider rods, arranged next to one another, made of a hardened material.
It has proven to be advantageous if the stack of glass specimen slides arranged one above another rests on at least two stack rods, arranged next to one another, made of hardened material.
In a further embodiment of the invention and for reliable pushing of an individual glass specimen slide out of its stack, the height difference between the upper edge of the stack rods and the upper edge of the slider rods is equal to no more than the glass thickness of a specimen slide.
Hardened rods of this kind are not required for plastic cassettes. Here as well, however, the height difference between the upper edge of the stack support and the upper edge of the slider support is less than the cassette height.
The delivery device can also be equipped with a chute for delivering the specimen slides and/or cassettes into a lower transfer position of the downstream printing device. It has proven to be advantageous in this context if the chute has a hardened surface. This reliably prevents material abrasion on the chute because of the hard glass specimen slides.
hardened surface. This reliably prevents material abrasion on the chute because of the hard glass specimen slides.
To ensure that the glass specimen slides can reliably slide along on the chute, the surface of the chute is equipped with a corrugated profile so that a flat glass specimen slide rests on the chute in only linear fashion, and an air cushion is thus formed between the specimen slide and the surface of the chute. This prevents xe2x80x9cstick-slippingxe2x80x9d of the specimen slide on the chute.
In a further embodiment of the invention, hardened track rollers with which the specimen slide is tilted into the lower transfer position are arranged at the end of the chute. For that purpose, the surface of the track rollers is arranged higher than the surface of the chute.
In addition, provision can be made for arranging at the end of the chute a sensor to detect a specimen slide and/or a cassette, and for connecting the sensor to the control device. When the sensor responds, a signal is generated by the control device to deliver the specimen slide or cassette into the printing device. A response by the sensor also means detection of the fact that the selected stack magazine still contains cassettes or specimen slides. Sensor monitoring for each individual stack magazine can thus be omitted.
In a further embodiment of the invention, if the sensor does not respond, a signal is generated by the control device to switch over to a different stack magazine, and the drive motor is controlled accordingly. At the same time, an acoustic and/or optical signal to refill the stack magazine can additionally be generated.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the stack magazines and the delivery device are embodied for selectable reception of cassettes with and without integrally formed covers.